Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,614 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $211,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

NYSE:KMB opened at $142.44 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $123.02 and a twelve month high of $149.31. The company has a market capitalization of $47.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $132.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.56.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. As a group, research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KMB. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $1,528,158.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets personal care and consumer tissue products in the United States. It operates through three segments: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue, and K-C Professional. The company’s Personal Care segment offers disposable diapers, training and youth pants, swimpants, baby wipes, feminine and incontinence care products, reusable underwear, and other related products under the Huggies, Pull-Ups, Little Swimmers, GoodNites, DryNites, Sweety, Kotex, U by Kotex, Intimus, Thinx, Poise, Depend, Plenitud, Softex, and other brand names.